“My wallet! Where is it? ” were my first words when I found out my wallet was lost. I searched my memory for a few good seconds, and then________that I had left my precious wallet in the library. To be________, it was in the public toilet of the library!

_____the library was then closed, I had to wait until the next morning to begin my________. When I got there early the next day, all I found was a______bathroom.

At that time, all I could________was that the person who cleaned the restroom had________my wallet. So I________approached an old lady at the front desk. “Excuse me, is there a wallet found in the restroom yesterday? ” She walked through a door and________for a moment. Then she came back to the desk. “No, ” she said. I quickly thanked her and walked off,________.

Finally, I painfully________the fact that my wallet had gone.

A week later, I received a mysterious________in the mail. Sure enough, it was my________! And most surprisingly,________in it was missing! And there was a little yellow piece of paper folded up inside. I slowly unfolded it and a little medal of Christ fell off. The paper________like this:

Always________this medal with you, whatever your religion is, so the angel that was watching over you last________will always be close.

This person didn’t even leave a return________, so I couldn’t thank whoever it was.

From that day on, I promised myself to follow this example when I was in a________situation. I will make others as________as I was when I opened that package!

1.A. predicted B. realized C. explained D. imagined

2.A. obvious B. honest C. exact D. clear

3.A. Because B. Although C. Unless D. Even

4.A. work B. reading C. research D. search

5.A. crowded B. noisy C. clean D. deserted

6.A. run after B. hope for C. remember D. declare

7.A. hidden B. picked C. ignored D. found

8.A. secretly B. aimlessly C. politely D. angrily

9.A. disappeared B. hesitated C. rested D. escaped

10.A. surprised B. disappointed C. satisfied D. ashamed

11.A. accepted B. considered C. changed D. covered

12.A. present B. invitation C. notice D. package

13.A. wallet B. book C. reward D. treasure

14.A. something B. nothing C. everything D. anything

15.A. exposed B. described C. read D. announced

16.A. keep B. equip C. compare D. connect

17.A. month B. fortnight C. week D. year

18.A. reminder B. date C. message D. address

19.A. disappointing B. similar C. different D. difficult

20.A. annoyed B. puzzled C. crazy D. happy

    Chuck was in my high-school English class.1.So, when he told me he had been accepted into the journalism program at the University of Missouri, I wasn’t surprised.

During the first year at college, Chuck stopped by school a few times. We talked about our work together several years before. We had raised money together for twenty-three sick and abandoned babies.2.. It was an activity that in some ways changed our formal relationship into a friendship.

In his second year in college, it was discovered that Chuck had lung cancer and had only a short while to live. So he left school and came home to be near to his loved ones.

About six weeks later, Chuck died.3.The youngest of nine children, Chuck was talented and full of promise. More importantly, he was a good person, a just man.

When I went to his funeral, his father asked to speak with me. He told me that before Chuck’s death, he chose six items to bury with him.4.He told me that Chuck had always kept the piece because he liked the message I had written to him at the bottom of the last page. In that little note, I affirmed his talent as a writer and I encouraged him to be responsible for the gift.

5.His taking my note with him forever offered me a great opportunity for influencing students’ lives. I felt inspired with a sense of purpose that was greater than ever: teachers have the power to affect hearts and minds for a long time.

A. It was a great loss for everyone, especially for his family.

B. Chuck helped to raise several thousand dollars.

C. Whenever I forget my purpose, I think of Chuck.

D. He was a writer of great promise.

E. My spirits were lifted up as Chuck was filled with the joy of life.

F. One of them was an essay he had written in my class some years before.

G. I was touched and grateful to Chuck who gave me a special gift that would change my life.

Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique—a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to explore how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language, complete with grammar, is something that we are born with, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of a teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world’s only liberal arts university for deaf people.

When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something strange: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.

Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English (混杂英语). But Stokoe believed the“hand talk”his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, when even deaf people considered their signing as “substandard”. Stokoe’s idea was academic heresy (异端邪说).

It is 37 years later. Stokoe—now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture—is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades, educators fought against his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation (调节) of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. “What I said,” Stokoe explains, “is that language is not mouth stuff—it’s brain stuff.”

1.What aroused the present growing interest in sign language?

A. A famous scholar in the study of the human brain.

B. A leading specialist in the study of liberal arts.

C. An English teacher in a university for the deaf.

D. Some senior experts in American Sign Language.

2.According to Stokoe, sign language is ________.

A. a substandard language    B. a genuine language

C. an artificial language    D. an international language

3.Most educators objected to Stokoe’s idea because they thought ________.

A. sign language was not widely used even by deaf people

B. sign language was too artificial to be widely accepted

C. a language should be easy to use and understand

D. a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds

4.Stokoe’s argument is based on his belief that ________.

A. sign language is as efficient as any other language

B. sign language originated from natural language

C. language is a system of meaningful codes

D. language is a product of the brain

Once, African lions were the kings of the jungle. But every day, they lose more and more of their home to humans. A new study done by Duke University shows that humans have taken over much of the lions habitat.

Lions live on the African plains, which are called savannas. In the past 5 years, the number of people living on the Savannas African plains has grown rapidly. At the same time, the number of lions has dwindled quickly.

The research team at Duke University used detailed pictures taken by satellite to carefully examine the African landscape. They were able to see very small farms and towns that are taking over the once-open plains. Lions need wide-open spaces to hunt. As the number of people and towns has increased, the African plains have become less welcoming to lions. The number of lions has dropped from about 100, 000 in 1960 to 32,000 today. West Africa has seen the largest drop ——fewer than 500 lions remain there.

Researchers worry that the number of lions will decrease even more as the number of humans moving onto the savannas increases. People and lions living closely together have to compete for natural resources like water and food. Towns and farms that take over hunting grounds could force the lions out of those areas completely. Often, lions with no other sources of food will kill farm animals. Farmers will then kill the lions to protect their animals. African lions are also threatened by poachers, who hunt animals illegally. Many poachers hunt lions for sport or to take their fur.

One of the authors of the Duke University study is conservationist Stuart Pimm. Pimm believes the group’s research can be helpful in planning ways for people and lions to share the African plains. One solution is to build higher fences to keep lions away from farm animals. African countries can also expand and better protect their wildlife reserves so that lions have safe places to hunt.

1.The underlined word“dwindled”in Paragraph 2 can be best replaced by______________.

A. grown    B. changed

C. doubled    D. decreased

2.According to the study done by Duke University,______________.

A. there are 100, 000 lions on the African plains

B. African lions are losing their habitat to humans

C. more and more people are moving out of Africa

D. the number of lions in West Africa has increased

3.The following are solutions mentioned in the passage to protect lions EXCEPT________.

A. expanding wildlife reserves

B. avoiding conflict between lions and farmers

C. preventing people from hunting lions illegally

D. stopping people from moving into the African plains

4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A. Losing African lions    B. Moving out of Africa

C. The kings of the jungle    D. The problems of Africa

In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child’s acquisition (学会) of each new skill—— the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be firced to use a toilet too early. A young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.

Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters. Others are severe over time of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general, the controls represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child’s own happiness.

As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency (一致性）is very important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality. Also, parents should realize that “example is better than precept”. If they are not sincere and do not practice what they say, their children may grow confused and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled.

A sudden awareness of an obvious difference between their parents’ principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.

1.In the process of children’s learning new skills parents ________.

A. should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read

B. should not expect too much of them

C. should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own

D. should create as many learning opportunities as possible

2.The second paragraph mainly tells us that _________.

A. parents should be strict with their children

B. parental controls reflect only the needs of the parents and the values of the community

C. parental restrictions vary, and are not always enforced for the benefit of the children alone

D. parents vary in their strictness towards their children according to the situation

3.The word “precept” (Line3, Para.3) probably means “_______”.

A. ideas    B. punishment

C. behavior    D. instructions

4.In moral matters, parents should ________.

A. observe the rules themselves

B. be aware of the marked difference between adults and children

C. forbid things which have no foundation in morality

D. consistently ensure the security of their children

Booking a Theatre

These locations have theatres available for rental：

*Fairview         *Palmerston       *York Woods

Priority Bookings

Each June, theatre booking requests for dates in the following calendar year (January to December) are accepted. For more information, call the Room Booking Unit at 416-397-5969.

Regular Bookings

For people who didn't make a booking request in June, call the Room Booking Unit at 416-397-5969 to check for remaining dates.

Completing a Booking

Once the library receives a request, staff will check the availability and place a tentative booking for you. You will then receive a contract that you must return with payment within 10 calendar days of the tentative booking and with a minimum of two months before the first booking to confirm the booking.

Payment

Payment for the first booking and any bookings in the current month is due when you return the signed contract. If you have booked for multiple months, payments for those months are due at the beginning of each month.

1.What’s required if you want to make priority bookings?

A. Calling the library first.    B. Booking in previous June.

C. Having a look at the theatre beforehand.    D. Paying a visit to the Room Booking Unit.

2.When should you make payments if you book a theatre in the current month?

A. Ten days before the booking.    B. When you make the booking.

C. When you return the contract.    D. At the beginning of the month.

3.What’s the rate if a non-profit organization rents a theatre at Palmerston?

A. $418.00/day.    B. $209.00/day.

C. $163/hr.    D. $150.00／hr.

假定你是李华，你校学生会打算在世界地球日（4月22日）举办以“保护地球”为主题的征文展，请你给在校的美国交换生Lisa写封邮件，告知此事并请她提供征文作品，截稿日期为4月10日，投稿邮箱为Earthday@163.com。

注意：1. 词数100左右；

2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线, 并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

It’s easy for you to start smoking. But if you become addicted to it, you may find it difficult give it up. First of all, you may become physically addicted to nicotine, that is in cigarettes. Secondly, you may develop into the habit of smoking and finally become mental addicted to it. Smoking may have all kind of harmful effects on the fitness of smokers and non-smokers around them. Not only does it affect your physical fitness, but also do damage to your heart and lungs, cause a variety of diseases. If you are a smoker, the bad smell may drive people around you away. However, it is important that you should quit smoking and live a health life. You can make the list of all the benefits you may get.

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

There are various reasons 1. people write poems. Some poems tell a story or describe something in a way that will give the reader a strong 2. (impress). Others attempt 3. (convey) certain emotions. Poets use different forms of poetry to express 4. (they). For example, the language of nursery rhymes is concrete but 5. (imagine). And list poems have repeated phrases which give both a pattern 6. a rhythm to the poem. Another simple form of poem is the cinquain, which 7. (make) up of five lines and can express strong feelings in just a few words. And of course there are Tang poems from China which you may enjoy 8. particular. With so many different 9. (form) of poetry to choose from, students may 10. (eventual) want to write poems of their own.

Almost everything was fantastic in the nature camp except for a girl, Elizabeth. When I saw her sitting alone in the hot sun at lunch, I asked her to eat with us under a(n) ______ tree. However, Elizabeth refused my kind ______. When we invited her to play volleyball with us, Elizabeth ______ our invitation, too. After a few more ______ refusals like that, I decided to stay away from Elizabeth.

It ______ that we were going on a nature ______ and that our instructor paired everyone up with a partner. Guess who my partner turned out to be. It was Elizabeth!

“What do you like to do ______?” I asked, trying to make small ______ as we started out. “I like to ______ in peace and quiet,” Elizabeth ______. So we had the quietest and most peaceful hike in the world ______ we saw a bird. “I think his wing is hurt. Poor little bird,” Elizabeth said ______. “He might be taking a rest over there.” I said. Elizabeth nodded. Then she whispered, “But what if he’s in ______, like my granddad?” “Your granddad?” I said. “He ______ and broke his leg the day the camp started. He’s ______ in hospital and is in so much pain,” Elizabeth explained. I noticed she was ______. “I’m sorry for what I have done. For some reason, whenever I get really sad, I act ______ and want to be alone,” she added.

“I get it,” I said. “I don’t always know how to ______ it when I’m feeling down, either.” “Thanks,” she said, wiping off her tears.

After that, Elizabeth seemed to get along well with us, and I think she actually ______ the last few days of the camp.

Next time, if someone is unfriendly, give him a second ______. Maybe he’s going through a tough time.

1.A. old    B. shady    C. warm    D. pretty

2.A. proposal    B. help    C. symbol    D. order

3.A. turned over    B. turned in    C. turned out    D. turned down

4.A. unfair    B. unfit    C. unfriendly    D. uncertain

5.A. seemed    B. appeared    C. looked    D. happened

6.A. talk    B. discussion    C. voyage    D. hike

7.A. for free    B. for ever    C. for fun    D. for certain

8.A. mistakes    B. talks    C. changes    D. promises

9.A. jog    B. work    C. live    D. walk

10.A. replied    B. insisted    C. complained    D. shouted

11.A. unless    B. though    C. until    D. since

12.A. happily    B. coldly    C. sadly    D. luckily

13.A. silence    B. pain    C. peace    D. trouble

14.A. lay    B. sat    C. ate    D. fell

15.A. still    B. yet    C. already    D. ever

16.A. smiling    B. crying    C. drawing    D. coughing

17.A. nicely    B. properly    C. rudely    D. naturally

18.A. ruin    B. recognize    C. repair    D. handle

19.A. enjoyed    B. planned    C. hated    D. avoided

20.A. life    B. bird    C. chance    D. try

People have always wanted to know what the future will look like. Then, how can we? 1.  The world has changed a lot in the last 150 years, but we humans are driven by the same basic needs as we were 150 years ago, such as food, sleep, the feeling of being appreciated and loved. 2. No. In addition, generally speaking, the inventions for the last 150 years have been a human effort for freedom and communication, to be able to get in control of the time and world. Since there is still much to do in this area, this will be the focus at least for the next 150 years.

But why do we need to predict the future? Predicting the future is important for two reasons: First, we need to start to think about what kind of future we would like for ourselves and to pass on to the next generation. 3.

How about the virtual worlds? It might be in the future to experience the sand between your toes, and hear the waves, just lying in your bed at home. 4. So, even if a great invention is there for an affordable price, it’ll never take the place of the common experience if it is not real.

5. What we’ll see in the next 50 years is the transition (过渡) from an oil-dependent society to a new society. Here there’ll be new medicine, continued exploration of space, challenges in the climate change, and new inventions that make life a little easier.

A. So what will the future look like then?

B. Will this change in the next 150 years?

C. Predicting the future can help us in many ways.

D. However, you’ll never get the feeling of being there.

E. Well, to understand the future, you must know the past.

F. However, no matter how real the experience will feel, it doesn’t happen for real.

G. Then we need to know what decisions we need to make today that will give the best result in the future.

If you’re encouraged by the tiny house movement and think 160 square feet is just enough for your needs, you may want to contact the Academy of Construction and Design (ACAD) at IDEA Public Charter School in northeast Washington．

Students in the program built a micro house with a kitchen, a bathroom, a sleeping loft with space for a queen-size bed and a storage loft, all set on a trailer for mobility. The exterior (外部) of the house was part of a continuous living exhibit in 2015and was moved to the IDEA campus so students could work with builders to complete the interior earlier this year.

McMahon said the D.C. government’s approval to push companies to hire District residents (居民) was at odds with the school system not preparing students for careers in construction, exploring or electrical work. McMahon gathered industry and community leaders to establish ACAD in 2005 and he said 100 percent of the companies he contacted responded positively to the idea, including major firms such as JBG, Clark Construction, Hines Construction and Boston Properties.

“When students make the connection between what they are learning a potential career, their academics improve dramatically,” said Carol Randolph, chief operating officer of the D.C. Students Construction Trades Foundation. “Some of them who didn't think college was an choice now have a better chance because their classes have become relevant to a job.”

“We teach them life skills and explain that even if you start as a laborer, there are opportunities to move up quickly,” he said. “We rewrite the story for them and explain that they can work for a few years, make good money, get promoted, and start their own business or go to school with less debts.”

“Parents and school advisors can be the biggest obstacles because of the negative idea of construction as a blue-collar career,” Karriem said. “I get middle-school advisors on board to talk about the opportunities this education provides. These kids are learning lifelong skills that can help them in other fields, provide them with income and allow them to take care of their homes.”

1.What does the underlined part “at odds with” in the third paragraph mean?

A. Inconsistent with.    B. Familiar to.

C. Harmonious with.    D. Similar to.

2.What is the purpose of the program of building a micro house?

A. To satisfy different needs of people.

B. To help acquire lifelong skills from the college.

C. To make the college more attractive.

D. To offer more job opportunities in colleges.

3.What can we infer from the words of Karriem?

A. Students tend to choose the blue-collar career.

B. Parents and school advisors are wrong.

C. It’s hard to make the program popular.

D. Life skills help improve scores greatly.

4.Which of the following may be the title of the passage?

A. A Micro House Program for Students

B. Build a Micro House for Campus Students Soon

C. Why Not Build More Tiny Houses?

D. Develop Lifelong Skills of Students

Many high school students consider a college education useless. Therefore, they choose not to go to college. If you’re one of them, think again. Here are some reasons why you should go to college and receive a good education there.

Schools and universities are the first sources of knowledge. We take that knowledge later on to build our careers after graduation. More knowledge will be gained after you start working, but without an education, that job will not be within easy reach. Knowledge leads to knowledge.

While limited within the walls of the educational institutions, we openly explore other cultures of the world. We come to know that ours is not the only culture. Other cultures have valuable insights to share, enriching our own. Education also makes us want to travel and interact with various cultures, broadening our horizons.

When there’s a downturn (衰退) in the economy, those who attended college will be more likely to find a new job than those who only finished grade school and have a limited skills set. The more education you have, the more chances you will get to improve the quality of your life as you have a better job and earn a higher salary.

When you’re skillful and knowledgeable, you get to “rub knees” with people of similar backgrounds and tastes. It means a good education leads to excellent networking. Good networking can benefit you a lot in your later life.

A good education makes you a more interesting person. You can talk about ideas and events instead of just other people and what’s on sale in stores. An educated person doesn’t gossip, having a preference to discuss ideas and listen to what other people have to say.

1.Paragraph 2 mainly shows that going to college allows you to ______.

A. have a chance to study abroad    B. keep gaining knowledge

C. become a more interesting person    D. realize the importance of knowledge

2.According to Paragraph 3, what is the advantage of going to college mean?

A. Having a greater understanding of different cultures.

B. Being limited within the walls of a college.

C. Valuing our own culture much more.

D. Thinking differently from others.

3.By giving the example of a downturn in the economy, what does the author want to show?

A. A good education can improve your tastes.

B. A good education sometimes means nothing.

C. A good education means you will not lose your job.

D. A good education allows you to keep a life of high quality.

4.What is the text mainly about?

A. Sources of knowledge.

B. Benefits of attending college.

C. The disadvantages of not being educated.

D. The reason why some people think college useless.

Attention from strangers is nothing new to me. Questions about my height is the center of almost every public interaction. My friends say my height is just a physical quality and not a personality aspect. However, when I reflect on my life, I realize that my height has shaped my character in many ways and has helped to make me who I am.

I learned how to be kind. When I was younger, some parents in my neighborhood regarded me kind of dangerous because I was so much larger than other children of my age. I had to be extra welcoming and gentle simply to play with other children. Of course, now my coaches wish I weren’t quite so kind on the basketball court.

I learned the quality of not being too proud about myself. At 7 feet tall, everyone expects me to be an amazing basketball player. They come expecting to see Dirk Nowitzki, and instead they might see a performance more like Will Ferrell (successfully starred a professional basketball player). I have learned to be modest and to work even harder than my fellows to meet their (and my) expectations.

I developed a sense of lightheartedness. When people playfully make fun of my height, I laugh at myself too. On my first day of high school, a girl dropped her books in a busy hallway. I got down to her level and gathered some of her notebooks. As we both stood up, her eyes widened as I kept rising over her. Astonished, she dropped her books again. Embarrassed, we both laughed and picked up the books a second time.

All of these lessons have defined me. Looking back, I realize that through years of such experiences, I have become a confident, expressive person. Being a 7-footer is both a blessing and a curse (诅咒), but in the end, accepting who you are is the first step to happiness.

1.Why does the author often draw attention from strangers?

A. He is interested in public interaction.    B. He has a unique personality.

C. He is physically strong.    D. He is extremely tall.

2.When he was young, the author intended to be more friendly just to _____.

A. gain extra favor    B. play with other children

C. prove his kindness    D. please his coach

3.It can be inferred from Para. 3 that _____.

A. Dirk Nowitzki was an awful basketball player

B. the author seldom disappointed his basketball fans

C. the author expected to make something better of himself

D. Will Ferrell was better at playing basketball than Dir Nowitzki

Dreaming of summer picnics filled with family and fun? We’ve come up with 4 of the top picnic areas across the US.

Cumberland Islands, Georgia

Just a few hours south of Savannah, this national seashore is a picnic paradise. It’s an unspoiled place in the Deep South with over 50 miles of hiking trails (小径). Covered in Spanish moss, the trails are lined with trees and since it’s still a rural area, the stars line up for a spectacular show at night and create the perfect evening starlit picnic opportunity.

Grant Park, Chicago

If you are looking for delicious food in Chicago, go for a taste of a 20-day, lake-front, foodie festival that happens in October each year. Grab a spot near the fountain to enjoy your picnic, appreciate the city scenery and lake views and relax with family and friends. If you are there on July 4th, be sure to plan the day to include the fireworks display at the Navy Pier.

Cranberry Islands, Maine

Here, you’ll enjoy natural picnics with island views. The islands are a delightful group of islands about 20 minutes offshore from Acadia National Park. You can visit the islands by private boat or ferry (渡船) service. Bring a picnic basket along for the ride as it’s a romantic picnic area to take your special someone or go for a family outing to visit the islands.

Big Sur, California

The Point Lobos State Reserve is a small gem. Besides the coastal wildlife there are rare plant communities, and unique geological formations. It’s good to have a picnic there. We recommend bringing a telescope, because much of the wildlife can be seen only at a distance.

1.What are Cumberland Islands like?

A. They are just next to Savannah.

B. They haven’t lost their naturalness.

C. They are almost covered in Spanish moss.

D. They have a spectacular show every night.

2.Where can you enjoy observing wildlife with a telescope?

A. At the Navy Pier.    B. In the Deep South.

C. At Acadia National Park.    D. At the Point Lobos State Reserve.

3.Why does the author write this passage?

A. To introduce some picnic areas.

B. To share personal stories about picnics.

C. To tell readers some good ways to relax.

D. To offer readers tips for winter holiday.

4.Where can we most probably read this passage?

A. In a personal dairy.    B. In a science report.

C. In a travel magazine.    D. In a geography textbook.

你校英语社团要组织一次英语辩论赛，就“是否应该缩短中学生在校时间为8小时”的论题进行辩论，请你作为正方代表，写一份辩论稿，内容要点如下：

（1）保证充足睡眠；

（2）提高学习效率；

（3）增加自主时间。

注意：

（1）词数不少于100；

（2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

（3）辩论稿的开头已给出，不计入总词数。

As a senior high student, I strongly recommend that___________________________________________

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阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。

My dad is a kind, gentle man, and a man of few words. Throughout my life, he offered advice rarely. But the words were always appropriate to the situation I was facing.

As a teen when I struggled with making sense of the world around me, he said, “All things are relative.” He taught me the right view of the world. When I was offered the opportunity to be a manager of an organization as an undergraduate student, I asked him for advice because he was a senior manager of a large company. His advice was simple, “Only when you become the manager can you have a vision for how you can make the organization better; management isn’t about power and it’s about leadership.” I learned what I needed was not only to be responsible for my team but also to have leading ability. When I was feeling down, he explained, “Think that you make the wrong choices in life, sometimes.”

My dad is 86 now, living on his own and enjoying life while struggling with the challenges that aging brings. He keeps a positive attitude despite long pain and the losses that come in life. Although we live quite far away from each other, we talk daily on the phone, and he shares the joys of my young family. As I tell him how we’re heading off cycling or on a trip or out to play tennis, now his typical response is, “Do it while you can.” This is very important. We can’t be sure of the future. My father’s advice is like the ancient dictum（格言）of “ carpe diem”— seize the day and enjoy it to the fullest.

My dad rarely “lectured me”. He trusted me, and helped me when I needed help. His patience and wisdom have been true gifts in my life. As I doubt my ability and my motivation, I recall his most recent gift of wisdom, “Do it while you can”. It’s enough to “just get me started”.

1.Why did the author’s dad tell him “All things are relative.”? (No more than 10 words)

2.What qualities should a manager have according to the author? (No more than 5 words)

3.What is the purpose of the author’s father talking with him on the phone every day? (No more than 10 words)

4.How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph? (No more than 10 words)

5.How do you feel about the ancient dictum of “carpe diem”? (No more than 20 words)

It is one of the oldest magic tricks in the book—a magician locks a woman in a box, with her head and feet sticking out from either end, and saws (锯) it in half. But when she finally jumps out of the box, the woman is unharmed.

This trick was introduced nearly a century ago. It has been around for some time, but it never goes wrong. Why is it so successful? The answer is simple: the human mind is easily fooled.

Our brain processes the world around us based on information that sensory organs, including the eyes, pick up. For instance, when we see a cow or a horse standing behind a tree, we automatically “fill in” the part of the animal’s body that is hidden from our sight. “So the brain is taking this kind of very sparse (匮乏的) information about the world and it’s generating this rich world by filling in information,” Stephen Macknik, a scientist at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, US, told Science magazine.

But since our brains are filling in the gaps, sometimes they get it wrong. They tend to be driven by our previous experiences and we expect things to go as they have in the past even if sometimes they do not.

This tendency explains magicians’ success in fooling people with well-known coin tricks. For example, when you see a magician throw a coin up and down in one hand and then fake a coin thrown to the other hand, you would naturally believe that the coin is in the other hand.

Apart from the information gaps, magicians also use the “blind spots” theory when doing their shows.

The most well-known experiment demonstrating this theory is called the “invisible gorilla (大猩猩)”, in which volunteers watch a video of two basketball teams. They are asked to count how many times the teams wearing white shirts pass the ball. In the meantime, a person dressed as a gorilla walks onto the court. But shockingly, half of the viewers don’t notice the gorilla, even when they appear to be looking directly at it.

Magicians employ this tactic (招数), what they call “misdirection”, in almost every one of their acts. They direct our attention somewhere else using comedy and music, which can make us miss stuff during the performance.

1.The magic trick is mentioned in the first paragraph to ________.

A. introduce the steps of the magic trick

B. prove magic tricks seldom go wrong

C. reveal how magic tricks are designed

D. get us to wonder how magicians trick the mind

2.We can conclude from the passage that the human mind is easily fooled because our brain ________.

A. may have difficulty remembering what we just saw

B. fills in information about the magic world

C. is influenced by our previous experiences

D. processes far more information than our sensory organs pick up

3.What does the underlined word “invisible” in paragraph 7 refer to?

A. Unnoticed.    B. Unimportant.

C. Unpleasant.    D. Unprepared.

4.During the “invisible gorilla” experiment, people watching the video ignore the “gorilla” because ________.

A. they don’t look directly at it

B. they are not interested in it

C. they are too focused on counting

D. they consider it to be a distraction

5.Why do magicians usually use comedy and music when they play magic tricks?

A. To get viewers to stay focused on the show.

B. To make the show more fun and exciting.

C. To draw viewers’ attention away from a secret action.

D. To create information gaps between magicians and viewers.

British writer John Donne once said: “No man is an island; every book is a world.” As an enthusiastic reader, I can’t agree with the latter part of the sentence more. Every summer, I endeavor to find some peaceful places where I can attack some classics without being disturbed. Thomas Hardy wants to live far from the madding crowd. I am no friend to chaos, either.

I read George Orwell’s 1984 in a New England beachside cottage with no locks on the doors, no telephones or televisions in the rooms. 1984 is a good book that needs deep reflection. Attempting Sound and Fury lying on the bed of a poorly-occupied motel, however, was less fruitful: I made it through one and a quarter volumes, but then my eyelids were so heavy that I couldn’t keep them open.

But this summer I find myself at a loss. I’m not quite interested in J.D.Salinger, say, or Frankenstein. There’s always War and Peace which I’ve covered some distance several times, only to get bogged down in the “War” part, set it aside for a while, and realize that I have to start over from the beginning again, having forgotten everyone’s name and social rank. How appealing to simply fall back on a favorite—once more into The Call of the Wild or Alice in the Wonderland, which feels almost like cheating, too exciting and too much fun to properly belong to serious literature.

And then there’s John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. This title does not amaze but confuse. We’re never short of sour grapes, but we’ve never heard of angry grapes. Anyway grapes are my favorite fruit of summer. These stone fruits can always make me feel cheerful and peaceful all at once.

1.What can we infer from Paragraph 2?

A. The author has a cottage in New England.

B. 1984 is a book that needs careful thought.

C. Both of the reading attempts were not fruitful.

D. Sound and Fury was set in a poorly-occupied motel.

2.What does the underlined phrase “get bogged down” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A. Get confused.    B. Be carried away.

C. Be interpreted.    D. Make no progress.

3.Why does the author say reading his favorite books feels like cheating?

A. He finishes them quickly.    B. He should read something serious.

C. He barely understands them.    D. He gets amazed by their titles.

4.What can we know about the author from this passage?

A. Thomas Hardy is his friend.    B. He shows talent for literature.

C. He is quite forgetful.    D. He is a literary-minded man.

5.What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A. To share his reading experience.

B. To encourage readers to read books.

C. To introduce good books to readers.

D. To condemn the chaotic world we live in.

From childhood, Moira loved to write. Throughout school she enjoyed writing, but pursuing it professionally was never a possibility. Her father was a doctor, her mother a nurse. “Medicine was a fairly safe choice,” Moira says, “and writing was a career where it wasn’t a certainty that you’d have high income.”

She became a doctor but still wanted to write something. However, being a doctor was so demanding that she didn’t take up writing until her thirties. She produced a novel—a fictionalized version of her travel in China after university. She got excellent reviews. Moira sent it off to as many agents as she could find, and found one who wanted to represent her. Suddenly, it seemed she was on her way as an author.

“I had one lengthy phone call with the agent where we went through all possible areas that she thought needed polishing. I worked on those and sent it back to her but didn’t hear anything.” It wasn’t long before Moira found another agent who was interested if she was willing to rewrite it from the first person to the third person. She did the hard work and sent it off again. “I got back a really brief letter: ‘Thank you, I’m no longer interested.’ It was really disappointing.”

A decade went by, and Moira found herself eager to write again, this time purely for her own enjoyment. She set herself the challenge of creating a thriller and chose Western Australia as her setting.

As she was writing just for herself, something surprising began to happen. “The characters took on a life of their own; they started doing things I hadn’t thought about. It just flew.” One day, an agent called from Australia. Three weeks later, Moira had a publication deal. Her novel, Cicada, was published in March.

“Even if it hadn’t been published I still gained so much from the process,” says Moira.

1.What do we know about Moira?

A. She was a writer.    B. She was a doctor.

C. She was an agent.    D. She was a nurse.

2.What does the author imply about her first novel?

A. It was produced after she graduated from university.

B. It was published by one of the agents.

C. It was modified according to the agents’ requirements.

D. It was made into a thriller with Western Australia as the setting.

3.What made Moira write again ten years later?

A. The money.    B. The setting.

C. The challenge.    D. The pleasure.

4.What does the underlined word “flew” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A. Succeeded.    B. Survived.

C. Broke.    D. Failed.

5.What would be the best title of the passage?

A. An Adventure in China    B. How to Be a Writer

C. Moira’s First Novel    D. A Passion for Writing

It’s nearly exam time, so check out some of the best free apps around to help you manage the stress of exams and ensure you are studying effectively over the coming weeks.

Exam Countdown

This app can help to remind you how many days, hours, and minutes you have until your exam. This can help to motivate you to hit the books before it’s too late.

Block The Internet

Are you constantly checking Facebook when you should be writing an essay? Or perhaps are you distracted by a battle in League of Legends? Download this app to get rid of online distractions by temporarily blocking Internet sites on your mobile. Simply add the websites you want to block and the period of time to block them for. Guarantee to get yourself focused on that assignment.

CBT-i Coach

The US Department of Veterans (老兵) Affairs developed the app, CBT-i Coach, to assist with insomnia (失眠) and help people who would like to improve their sleeping habits. It provides several key parts: information about sleep and insomnia, strategies for improving sleep, relaxation skills and a helpful sleep diary.

Yoga

Yoga has great health benefits both for the mind and body, and will help you to perform at your best while at university. Download a yoga app and have your own personal yoga instructor in your living room. You can choose from short or long workouts and have a qualified instructor teaching you how to do each pose. Choose from a variety of yoga routines and watch the instructional videos. Go on, stretch out those sore muscles.

1.If you are not good at managing your time before an exam, you could try ________.

A. Block The Internet    B. Exam Countdown

C. CBT- i Coach    D. Yoga

2.Which app is the most useful for a student addicted to video games?

A. Yoga.    B. CBT- i Coach.

C. Exam Countdown.    D. Block The Internet.

3.What do we know about CBT-i Coach from this article?

A. It helps to build up stronger muscles.

B. It helps students to manage their study time.

C. It monitors and improves people’s sleeping quality.

D. It is used to treat soldiers with sleeping difficulties.

4.When using the Yoga app, the students are expected to ________.

A. ask a personal Yoga coach to instruct them face to face

B. choose some short workouts to avoid being so tired

C. choose some long workouts to guarantee the training effect

D. follow the instructional videos to stretch out the muscles

5.What does the author mainly intend to tell us in this passage?

A. Some apps to help students better prepare for exams.

B. The influence of our study habits on our exam results.

C. Several tips on how to throw off anxiety before exams.

D. Details of some apps to help to improve learning skills.

I always wondered how people would react if I tried to approach a total stranger for help in a busy place like a street corner or a mall. I had always ______ a stranger who tried to catch my ______ in a busy place.

Yesterday I was in a busy shopping mall buying a large piece of luggage because I just had the ______ to do it after many days of planning. After the ______, I picked up my phone from my pocket to call my driver waiting in the parking lot but my phone was _____.

Then I requested the shop assistant who had ______ sold me the merchandise （which was not cheap）if she could ring my driver for me. She ______ that it was the shop policy that they cannot use ______ while working in the shop.

After I got out of the shop onto the busy street, I ______ a young mother with her two kids to make the same ______. As soon as I said “Excuse me, madam!” she grabbed her kids and ran. I ______ a kidnapper.

I stood there wondering how many times I had ______ to strangers like the young _____. I stood there in the ______ street with people rushing by, looking at their faces to see if there was a sign of ______ on their faces.

I saw a man pretty shabbily dressed compared to me who ______ to notice me. I just stopped him and made my request. He ______ called my driver and waited till my car came to make sure I was picked up, turned around ______ I could thank him adequately and was gone.

I was ______ by his kindness and hope I will do ______ to strangers who try to catch my attention from now on.

1.A. helped out    B. hurried by    C. smiled at    D. taken in

2.A. attention    B. thought    C. devotion    D. sympathy

3.A. right    B. time    C. ability    D. way

4.A. rest    B. lunch    C. bargain    D. purchase

5.A. lost    B. dead    C. gone    D. wrong

6.A. still    B. simply    C. just    D. even

7.A. believed    B. promised    C. replied    D. predicted

8.A. phones    B. clocks    C. watches    D. computers

9.A. noticed    B. recognized    C. welcomed    D. approached

10.A. mistake    B. request    C. apology    D. comment

11.A. met with    B. appeared in    C. felt like    D. ran after

12.A. referred    B. objected    C. reacted    D. applied

13.A. driver    B. assistant    C. man    D. mum

14.A. busy    B. clean    C. deserted    D. dark

15.A. eagerness    B. forgiveness    C. thankfulness    D. kindness

16.A. pretended    B. seemed    C. managed    D. attempted

17.A. suddenly    B. frequently    C. actually    D. immediately

18.A. before    B. when    C. unless    D. while

19.A. disappointed    B. puzzled    C. surprised    D. frightened

20.A. similarly    B. normally    C. quickly    D. carefully

They were abroad during the months when we were carrying out the investigation, or they __________to our help.

A. would have come    B. could come

C. have come    D. had come

－ What does the sign over there read?

－ “No person ________ smoke or carry a lighted cigarette, cigar or pipe in this area.”

A. will    B. shall

C. may    D. must

That’s an unpleasant thing to say about your father after ________ he’s done for you.

A. something    B. anything

C. all    D. that

At the meeting they discussed three different ________ to the study of mathematics.

A. approaches    B. means

C. methods    D. ways

－ Mike, our team will play against the Rockets this weekend. I am sure we will win.

－ ________!

A. Congratulations    B. Cheers

C. Best wishes    D. Good luck

School children must be taught how to deal with dangerous ________.

A. states    B. conditions

C. situations    D. positions

It was in that small house ________ was built with stones by his father ________ he spent his childhood.

A. that; where    B. which; that

C. which; which    D. that; which

The living room is clean and tidy, with a dining table already __________ for a meal to be cooked.

A. laid B. laying

C. to lay D. being laid